Summer is here, and with that, our MRI leaders are actively presenting and participating in a series of mountain events, workshops, and congresses online and around the globe. Their participation is a testament to the broad and active engagement of the MRI. Below is a roundup of the latest updates from some of our Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PI) and Science Leadership Council (SLC) members.
Christian Huggel (University of Zurich and MRI Co-PI) was in the Andes, Peru, and Colombia in June. In Peru, he was part of the climate litigation case around a glacier lake that made international headlines. Christian was also working on a new project on high-andean ecosystems (HAME) with the Organization of American States (OAS), Condesan, and the University of Zurich, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Later this year, he will be attending the International Mountain Conference in Innsbruck and and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) early career workshop.
Rob Marchant (University of York and MRI SLC) presented “Capturing diverse voices to shape sustainable pathways for African near and far futures” at the Sustainability Research and Innovation (SRI) Congress in Pretoria, South Africa with colleagues from the University of St. Andrews, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), and the Joint Research Centre. The session presented a wide range of insights from applying scenario tools that integrate multiple knowledge streams and data sources to explore diverse visions of land use change across multiple ecosystems and land use systems - from coffee to pastoralism, from carbon management to conservation. Rob has also attended the International Electronic Conference on Land, PAGES Open Science Congress, and will be attending the International Mountain Conference.
Bryan Mark (Ohio State University and MRI SLC) looks forward to chairing a session called “Life after Ice” with his graduate students and collaborators or the International Mountain Conference in Innsbruck.
Maria Shahgedanova (University of Reading and MRI SLC) represented MRI at the UN Second High-Level International Conference on International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, held on 6-9 June 2022 in Dushanbe. She participated in a discussion panel at the event "Consequences of climate change effects on water sources in mountains of Central Asia" organised by the Aga Khan Development Network alongside Daler Jumaev, Minister, Ministry of Energy, and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan; André Carstens, Ambassador, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands; Professor Roy Siddle, Director of Mountain Societies Research Institute, University of Central Asia; Deo Raj Gurung, Aga Khan Development Network. The panel was chaired by Salome Steib, Director of Swiss Development Cooperation Office in Tajikistan. The panellists and the conference participants discussed impacts of climate change not only on glaciers but also other sources such as precipitation, snow cover, and sub-surface ice, the current knowledge about these resources in Central Asia and methods of adaptation to the projected changes.
Theresa Tribaldos (University of Bern and Co-PI) attended the the Forum Landscape, Alps, Parks (FoLAP) plenary on 4 May 2022, the Swiss UNESCO Chair Meeting organized by the Swiss UNESCO Commission on 25 May 2022, and the working group meeting of Swiss Parc Research on 16 June 2022. Later this year, Theresa will also attend the International Mountain Conference in Innsbruck and will present a keynote address at the 2022 Forum Origin, Diversity and Territories in Saignelégier, Jura, Switzerland on 19 October 2022.
Cover image by Raphael Nogueira
